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24 hours later: Saban's 'business' decision with Drake

Alabama running back Kenyan Drake (17) carries in first half action of the A-Day Spring Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Saturday April 18, 2015.(Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

TUSCALOOSA -- Nick Saban said Alabama made a "business" decision to have Kenyan Drake wear a black jersey as a precaution so his star running back wouldn't get tackled in Saturday's A-Day game.

"I thought he played great," Saban said. "That's how he's played all spring. I think that we're trying to make a business decision about what's best for Kenyan Drake and his future, as well as, what's best for our team."

It was a questionable business decision at best. If Drake had gotten hurt, it would have been a disastrous decision.

Alabama already lacks depth at running back. Bo Scarbrough suffered a knee injury during spring ball and had surgery on it. Tyren Jones was dismissed from the team after being arrested for marijuana possession.

Saban moved safety Ronnie Clark to running back to help create depth at running back. Clark played quarterback in high school at Calera.

So Derrick Henry and Drake are the only two proven backs and Saban chose to put the most explosive skilled offensive player in harm's way by playing him in the A-Day game. Drake has made great strides in returning from the season-ending injury in which he broke his leg against Ole Miss, but Alabama took a calculated risk in playing him Saturday.

Linebacker Reggie Ragland said Drake could be catch passes and make big plays like Reggie Bush for Alabama and "win a Heisman." This further makes me question why Drake was even playing Saturday.

Now Drake didn't get hurt. So no harm, no foul, but had he went down, how good of a decision would that have been to play him in a game that doesn't count in the W-L column?

"I don't think he had anything to prove out there today by going out there and getting tackled and us putting him in a situation where he'd be at greater risk of injury," Saban said. "He's pretty much full speed, but yet to be cautious with him I think is probably smart right now."

If Drake didn't have anything to prove, why even put him in harm's way against guys who are going to play full speed? Case in point, Drake carried out a play fake and ran out to the flat. Seconds later, he was on the ground as a defender ran into him.

It's football. Players fall down. I get it, but what I don't get is playing a guy in a spring game who isn't 100 percent at a position that you're thin in. Drake admitted earlier in the spring his cuts didn't feel normal and he has difficulty "jumping off" the leg.

So to me, Drake was better off watching from the sidelines. He instead was running the ball up the middle in traffic and running pass patterns over the middle. This isn't like having a quarterback wear a black jersey. In practice, defenders don't hit QBs.

Ball carriers are usually fair game. That's why Reuben Foster took Derrick Henry down and celebrated the big hit.

Now Drake's a good enough athlete to protect himself. Saban put Drake on the right team because the White squad was better than the Crimson one, but neither could control what everyone else was going to do on the field even if the plays were scripted.

And frankly, you could turn off Drake's desire, either.

You had a football player itching to break a big run before 65,175 fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium. You had defenders who were likely drilled to just touch him, but instinctively tackle ball carriers. That combination put Drake in a potentially dangerous situation that wasn't necessary and ultimately led to him going down awkwardly at times.

In the second half, Drake showed frustration when hearing the whistle blow to stop a play he would have likely ripped for a big gain in a real game. Drake, who only ran for just 13 yards on five carries, shoved the ball back at the official after a play.

"If he's a competitor, you would expect him to get frustrated because he wants to compete like everybody else," Saban said. "I think with a cool head and under normal circumstances, if any of us sat down and had a conversation with him, he's probably pleased with the spring that he had and feels great about the fact that he got a lot of work in and he didn't get exposed a lot."

Ragland called Drake's reactions something else.

"He was crying," Ragland joked. "He was crying."

Overall, I call Drake playing in Saturday unnecessary.

Alabama wasn't facing LSU or Auburn. It was the A-Day game. Drake didn't have to play in it. So Saban should feel fortunate his business decision didn't backfire.

"He's going to now have a great opportunity for the next three or four months to continue to build on that and he didn't put himself in any great risk of injury," Saban concluded.